Coolgardie–Esperance Highway is a Western Australian highway between Coolgardie and Esperance. It runs in a north–south direction linking the state's Eastern Goldfields to the coast.
The Coolgardie–Norseman stretch (National Highway 94) forms part of the Perth to Adelaide National Highway route and has a higher proportion of heavy traffic. This section passes through an undulating countryside, mainly dotted with patches of trees, scrub and salt lakes. The interstate traffic continues eastwards via Eyre Highway from its junction in Norseman. The Norseman–Esperance portion (National Route 1) is a part of Australia's Highway 1. The scenery changes to agricultural land, and on approach to Esperance it passes near lakes and hillsides.
Following the Western Australian gold rushes of the 1890s, a track developed between Coolgardie and Esperance, the closest harbour to the goldfields. A road was constructed along this track in the late 1920s and 1930s. From the late 1930s attention turned to sealing the road, but it took until 1960 before a single-lane seal was constructed between Coolgardie and Esperance. The road was gazetted as Coolgardie–Esperance Highway three years earlier, on 16 August 1957. Further work occurred between 1974 and 1980, providing a two-lane sealed road for the length of the highway.
Route description
Coolgardie–Esperance Highway commences at Great Eastern Highway at Coolgardie. It heads south as National Highway 94 to Norseman, the starting point of the interstate route Eyre Highway. Coolgardie–Esperance Highway continues south as National Route 1 to the coastal town of Esperance, at a roundabout with Harbour Road, Fisheries Road, and Norseman Road. Harbour Road is the southernmost section of the highway, a controlled-access bypass of the town linking to South Coast Highway and the Esperance Port.
Coolgardie–Esperance Highway is generally a two-lane single carriageway road, with a speed limit of , except in and around built up areas. Between Coolgardie and Norseman the highway proceeds through "undulating, timbered, and salt lake country", while south of Norseman it travels across agricultural land, and on approach to Esperance it passes near lakes and hillsides. There are few towns on the highway: Coolgardie, Widgiemooltha, Norseman, Salmon Gums, Grass Patch, Gibson, and Esperance. These are mostly separated by distances of , except for Salmon Gums–Grass Patch and Gibson–Esperance which are only and apart respectively.
Main Roads Western Australia monitors traffic volume across the state's road network, including various locations along Coolgardie–Esperance Highway. In 2013/14, the traffic volume ranged between 350 and 4000 vehicles per day, with the highest volume recorded south of South Coast Highway. The highest percentage of heavy traffic was 51.6% north of Goldfields Highway.
The reported safety of Coolgardie–Esperance Highway has varied between assessments. Reports commissioned by the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC) in 2006 and 2008 give the entire highway a three-star safety rating out of five. The state's overall highway network was generally rated as three-star or four-star, with around 10% in 2006 and 5% in 2008 receiving a two-star rating. The National Highway section was assessed by the Australian Automobile Association in 2011 to be among the lowest risk highways in the country, based on total number of casualty crashes per length of road. However, individual risk based on casualty crash rates per vehicle kilometre travelled was assessed as medium-high. In 2013, that portion of the highway was assessed as having 7% of its length rated as one-star, 47% as two-star, and 46% as three-star out of five stars.
History
Background
Following the Western Australian gold rushes of the 1890s, a track developed between Coolgardie and Esperance, the closest harbour to the gold fields. Horse-drawn carts would transport supplies and travellers along the route. Due to the sandy nature of the track, horse feed shipped into Esperance needed to be distributed to various points along the track. The Eastern Goldfields Railway from Perth to Kalgoorlie opened in 1897, and a branch railway extended down to Norseman in 1909. By this time, however, it was much cheaper to transfer goods by rail from Fremantle, and no longer profitable to cart goods along the track from Esperance to Norseman.